


Holding Back the Sky

by LuluRequests (EntameWitchLulu)



Series: Arc of Space [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 00:45:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EntameWitchLulu/pseuds/LuluRequests
Summary: Reiji and Yuya have come a long way since their first defection from the Imperial Navy with rescued child experiment Reira -- now, they have a whole crew on their side, and are ready to strike back instead of running away. But they have a powerful enemy, and fostering a rebellion against the galaxy’s greatest superpower will not be easy -- and will ask more of them than they were ever prepared to give.





	Holding Back the Sky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [czoedy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/czoedy/gifts).



Reiji presses a gentle hand to the wall of the ship, running his fingers over the sleek metal. His fingers slip down to run across the top of the couch. It seems so long ago, somehow — so long ago that he was first sitting in this tiny lounge, talking to Yuya while Reira slept. Sharing secrets neither of them had ever shared before.

“Reiji?” 

Yuya’s voice drifts through the now empty speeder. Reiji turns. Yuya stands in the doorway, one hand hovering over the doorframe. His eyes search Reiji’s for a moment, and then a faint, gentle smile spreads over his lips. He leaves the frame behind and walks over to Reiji, putting his arms around him. Reiji automatically embraces Yuya back, dropping his head into Yuya’s hair and breathing deeply.

“It’s not easy to say goodbye, huh?” Yuya says, breath tickling Reiji’s neck.

Reiji lets out a sigh, smiling slightly.

“You read me so easily, did you?”

Yuya leans back, still staying in Reiji’s arms, and smiles.

“Of course I do,” he teases, planting a quick kiss on Reiji’s nose. “I’m not happy about saying goodbye to this ship, either.”

Reiji glances around the tiny lounge, just big enough to hold seven people, if you squished. This ship isn’t made for the size of crew that they were carrying. There is no practical reason to keep it if they could find a way to get another ship.

And yet...still, his heart aches.

“It’s illogical,” he says. “But yes. I will miss it.”

Yuya smiles. He hugs Reiji a little tighter. And for a moment in their shared embrace, all of the moments they spent together in this little ship — their impulsive plot for Reiji to pose as hostage, the secrets shared in the dark, the first kisses and gentle explorations of each other’s skin — seem to be enfolded between them.

“My mom always said that memories last longer than where they were made,” Yuya says.

Reiji smiles. He runs a hand through Yuya’s hair.

“Your mother is wise,” he says. “I hope I can meet her someday.”

“Me too! She’d love you.”

An annoyed tapping causes the pair of them to break apart, though Yuya’s hand still slides down to grab hold of Reiji’s. Selena raises both her eyebrows at them, with a snickering Dennis attempting to cover his mouth behind her.

“Are you lovebirds done??” she says. “We’ve got a ship to steal, and not much time to do it.”

Reiji can’t help but crack a smile. It’s somehow hilarious to him, for a moment, to think about how odd this situation is — just a few months ago, he would have had to discipline Selena for speaking to him that way. And now, all he can do in response was chuckle — yet another thing he wouldn’t have felt able to do in front of his subordinates just a few months ago. Being a defected soldier has a certain feeling of freedom with it.

“We’re coming,” he says. “Just saying goodbye.”

“When did you get so sentimental?” Dennis asks, still grinning.

Reiji squeezes Yuya’s hand, and Yuya looks up at him, his smile widening.

“It must have been about the moment I arrived in this ship,” Reiji says, with a smile of his own.

* * *

Yuya doesn’t like the plan.

Of course they need a new ship. He gets that. Their current ship is too small to hold all of the crew they never expected to have, and besides, the navy knows exactly what kind of ship they’re in, so they can be tracked more easily. They need something new — something bigger, faster, more reliable, with more updated information in its data banks, and something that will take the navy at least a little bit of time to attribute to them.

Still. There  _ had _ to be other options.

He bites his tongue, however, standing in position, blaster held firmly at his side, kneeling down behind the packing container. The smell of rocket fuel wafts around the shipyard, making him wrinkle his nose. Somewhere, something clangs as someone drops something, and some swears in another language are followed by deep, throaty laughs. He hears a ship’s engine turn on, and glances up to see a speeder taking off, becoming visible over the tops of the packing container. Navy — top of the line. This is about as close as they were going to get to the Capital’s latest tech this far out in the galaxy — far enough away from the Capital to hopefully not have too many people coming after them, but close enough that they’d have as new of tech as possible.

Yuya closes his eyes.

_ How’s it going? _

It takes a moment for Reira to respond.

_ Everyone’s where they’re supposed to be. Reiji says...hold. _

Yuya nods. Reira is tucked somewhere towards the end of the shipyard, with Gongenzaka and Sawatari guarding her. Her telepathy is their only means of communication for now, at least until they can get communicators.

_ Are you sure you feel up to doing this? _ Yuya asks.

Once again, it takes a moment for Reira to respond. She’s probably overwhelmed already, he frets. Everyone is probably trying to talk to her at once, and she’s trying to relate messages to everyone back.

Her voice comes back through his mind with a surprising clarity and determination.

_ Yes,  _ she says.  _ I want to help. _

Yuya bites his lip. He doesn’t want to do this. He doesn’t want Reira to be in harm’s way like this. But she hadn’t let him stop her from telling the crew what she could do, and asking to help. And despite the uncertainty in Reiji’s face, he’d agreed, for lack of better options.

Yuya opens his eyes again, and lifts his blaster. He waits for the signal.

It comes quietly, so quick he almost misses it. Just the flash of a light against an already bright sky, reflected off of Selena’s blaster. He moves without hesitation.

Yuya runs low to the ground, blaster held low, checking corners quickly and briefly as he goes. When he makes it out of the maze of packing containers, he finds himself out on the port itself — a wide, stone and metal apparatus with pillars of steel and wire forming the communication towers, speeders parked neatly in rows. Yuya sees his target immediately — it’s almost the biggest one of the bunch, a large, but not massive, cruiser. Big enough to hold everyone, well manned with plenty of weapons, still quick and maneuverable. 

There are at least five mechanics milling about the port, some of them carrying beams between a pair, a few hauling tools, two sitting against a low wall to take a smoke. The security is lax for a navy base — there’s a tired looking guard yawning as they check their holophone, and a handful of soldiers talking and gesturing at one of the speeders. But Reiji’s information is correct — this base is understaffed, and most of the speeder owners are currently in the city.

Yuya holsters his blaster. As he walks casually out of the maze of packing containers, hat pulled low, Selena appears and falls into step beside him, as though they’d come in together. His heart screams, but he forces himself to walk nonchalantly, slowly, towards the cruiser. He’s in a new navy uniform, lent to him by Sawatari, and hopefully, if no one looks closely enough at the two of them, they might just...

Selena walks confidently, like she’s supposed to be here, and Yuya tries to match her. One of the mechanics glances at them, and then looks away, continuing on his journey. One of the mechanics taking a smoke, a short, stocky girl who looks slightly too young to be smoking, glances at them as well. Her lips turn downwards. Yuya tries not to look at her. They’re almost to the cruiser.

For one brilliant moment, it seems like it’s going to work. 

Then the mechanic who had given them a look and kept going stops. He drops his tools and whips around.

“Hey!!” he shouts. “Hey, guard!! They’s on the wanted posters!”

_ Well, shit _ .

Two perfect shots ring out over the port. Just as the soldiers by the plane are looking up at the shout, two of them are already down, tranquilizers sticking from their necks. Tsukikage really is an incredible sniper — Yuya can’t even see how far back he is, and those shots were perfect!

Unfortunately, they were enough warning for the other soldiers, and the guard, to duck behind cover. Yuya and Selena both charge for the cruiser while laser fire starts to rain out over them from the covered soldiers. An alarm screams out over the base. 

_ Reiji says hurry up!! _ Reira calls into Yuya’s head.

“Got it, got it!” Yuya says. He skids to a stop next to the cruiser, and Selena pushes him behind her, taking up a defensive position as she yanks out her blaster. He fumbles in his pocket, almost dropping the circular circuit before he manages to slap it onto the side of the cruiser.

A curious, floaty sensation passes over him, and his mouth goes dry. The circuit glows a deep, rich teal, cool energy wafting off of it — for a brief, eerie moment, Yuya feels as though Reira is standing right next to him. Her mind link with him turns to a faint buzz of static as she starts to concentrate.

The teal light begins to crawl over the sides of the cruiser — slowly. Too slowly. Yuya doesn’t dare ask Reira to hurry up, though.

_ Don’t worry about taking over the whole thing! Just try to get the doors open, and we can take care of the rest! _

He’s not even sure if Reira can hear him, she’s too busy focusing on her task. He peeks out over Selena’s shoulder, but Selena shoves him back down as she takes a few more shots. She swears when a laser blast grazes her side — the air starts to buzz overhead. Security bots are coming, Yuya thinks with a swear.

The little drones fill the air with a horrible whirring of mechanical wings, vaguely shaped like articulated giant mosquitoes. Lasers fire out of what would have been a proboscis, while they dart down and get past the cover to make sweeps over Yuya and Selena.

Three shots ring out, and three drones go down. Yuya swears as he sees Dennis and Shun coming out of the maze, firing at the soldiers to keep them pinned down — the drones swoop them, and Shun takes a hit to the shoulder that forces him to switch his blaster into another hand.

It’s not just drones, Yuya realizes with his mouth drying. More soldiers are coming. He can see them in the distance, coming over the packing units on their single-passenger hovercrafts, aiming anti aircraft weapons down at everyone. Yuya tries to scream at them to look up, but his throat catches.

The cruiser beside him shudders. And then it moves.

Yuya has to duck, dragging Selena down with him as the wing nearly decapitates them. The cruiser shoots backwards on its landing gear, shuddering and jumping.

_ Reira! You don’t have to control it! _

But Reira doesn’t seem to be able to hear him. The teal light of her powers encases the entire cruiser in a pattern like a circuit board — or like veins. The cruiser spins in place, causing Shun and Dennis to have to duck down and stagger back. Hovercrafts dive out of the way, clear shock scattering their formations for a moment.

The cruiser shudders. Yuya sees the blasters moving, trying to train on hovercrafts, but they’re sluggish, and no power floods their cores. 

“Reira!” Yuya screams out loud, even though he’s sure she can’t hear him. “Reira!! Stop!! You’re only going to hurt yourself!!”

There’s no way that Reira should be able to hear him — and maybe she doesn’t. Maybe it’s just a horrible coincidence that after that, the cruiser shudders — and the teal lights go out. The back door does crack, though — enough for Yuya to wedge it open if he tries.

“Selena! Cover me!” he shouts.

Selena just nods, following him with her blaster held up while Yuya dives for the cruiser. He tries to scramble up along the ladder on the side — if he can just reach it, he might be able to unlock it — 

A drone swoops for his head. His eyes widen as he sees the laser aimed right between his eyes, and for a moment, the world goes quiet and slow. For a moment, he hears Reiji screaming his name in slow motion, hears the shouts and yells of his friends like echoes at the end of a tunnel. For just one moment, he knows that he’s going to die.

At least, until, a wrench crunches through the drone, and cool wind cuts past him. He gasps, eyes widening — for a moment, he’s not sure what’s saved them, until the small, darting thing shoots backwards.

He gapes to see the mechanic from before — the girl who looked too young to be smoking — hovering in the air on a hovercraft he’s never seen before. It looks like...well, it looks like a witch’s broom. The girl stands on it with her boots locked into it, a cool air blasting out of the bell-shaped end with a bright blue flame.

And she’s not the only one, he realizes with a start. Someone on a hovercraft shaped like a wheel, boots locked inside, shoots around the field, spraying drones with blasts of what looks like a crimson fire. There are a few other shapes darting about the battleground, taking out drones, hovercrafts — covering for his friends.

“Hurry up!” the girl shouts at him, throwing a tool towards him which he fumbles to catch. “Get that thing open and let’s get the hell out of here!”

Yuya doesn’t bother worrying about it. He just whips the tool towards the hull of the ship, and forces it into the crack. 

The bay door slides open like a dream, and he drops down the ladder.

“Everyone!” he shouts. “We’ve got it!”

He wants to wait, make sure everyone gets in, cover them, but Selena grabs him by the collar and hauls him inside the ship, dropping him there before bolting towards the control deck to get the ship in the air. Yuya can only hang there for a moment, dizzy from the fight, while the rest of the crew piles in one after the other. Reiji shoots to him immediately, briefly grabbing him in a tight hug that makes him even more dizzy, before turning around again to cover the back with his own blaster.

The bay doors begin to wrench shut — but just before they’re too thin to fit through, three hurtling hovercrafts come tumbling in, sneaking in neatly before the cruiser shuts, and the cruiser takes to the sky.

Yuya reaches for his blaster, heart hammering. But the three hovercrafts who came in with them aren’t the enemy. It’s the girl, and the man in the wheel-shaped hovercraft, and one other man unlocking himself from a hovercraft that looks like a board with a sail made of black feathers.

“Who are you?” Selena demands, shoving her blaster in the girl’s face.

The girl nonchalantly pushes it away, unlocking herself from her hovercraft and grabbing it to hold it beside her, using it to help her get up like a walking stick. She dusts herself off as though she doesn’t have multiple weapons trained on her.

She lifts her quick, hazel-yellow eyes, and smirks as she tosses back a sprig of mint-green bangs from her face.

“I’m the person who just saved your ass,” she says. “So a thank you might be nice.”

* * *

Reiji is tense. He doesn’t look it from the outside, of course — he looks as perfectly put together as always, even though his uniform is starting to get patchy and they haven’t had a chance to have a proper wash in weeks. Even then, he looks like he’s perfectly calm and in control, sitting with his back perfectly straight, his eyes perfectly calm and level, and not a hint of emotion in his face.

Yuya’s gotten to know him quite well, though. He can see the tightening in his jaw that means he’s not enjoying this — that he’s quite nervous.

The other three, for their part, don’t look nervous at all. The girl with the bright green hair sits leaning back in her chair with her hands behind her head, a floppy hat pulled over her bangs. The taller man with the slicked back blond hair has his arms folded, scowling at everything and everyone that moves. And the third one, a man with bushy orange hair and markings all over his face, leans his elbows on the table, smirking to himself.

“Well,” Reiji says, breaking the silence. “Perhaps you’d like to introduce yourselves.”

The girl with the green hair starts to open her mouth, but the blond man elbows her in the shoulder, and she glowers at him. The blond man, dressed all in white, leans forward slightly.

“My name is Jack Atlas,” he says.

The name gets a small noise of shock from Dennis, and Yuya glances at him. He’s leaning against the wall behind Reiji, with the rest of the crew surrounding the rest of the briefing room — this new ship of theirs is quite nice. They can all fit in here easily, and could even sit at the table all together. No one except Yuya was willing to sit down, however, spreading out around the room as though to make the intruders understand that they were here on Reiji’s terms.

“You’re joking,” Dennis says. “Jack Atlas? There’s no way  _ Jack Atlas _ would be out here fighting against the Navy.”

“Oh?” the man who calls himself Jack says, raising an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

Yuya’s never heard the name before, so he’s not positive what Dennis is talking about. Reiji makes a small noise of understanding, then, eyes flickering back to Jack.

“It does seem odd,” he says, “that the navy’s greatest propaganda machine would be in such a situation.”

“You guys are all real behind,” the girl quips. “Jack’s not a navy dog.”

“Hush, Rin,” Jack scolds her.

The girl rolls her eyes. Jack turns his attention back to Reiji.

“It’s true,” he says. “I have been...coerced into working with the navy’s delegation to Synchron.”

His lips tighten.

“But it’s become a front.”

Reiji’s eyebrow quirks up.

“Oh,” he says. “Interesting.”

“We’re from the Separatists,” the orange-haired man says, leaning forward a bit more. “Name’s Crow, by the way. Crow Hogan. Jack here’s been our inside guy in Synchron for a while.”

Oh, Yuya thinks, eyes widening.  _ Now  _ he knows who Jack is.

He remembers, now, from his time in the academy. Synchron, the long-standing enemy of the Imperial Navy, had grudgingly allowed delegates to join them for a time. A Synchron citizen, one Jack Atlas — a celebrity of a sort — had begun having public meetings with the delegates, to convince Synchron to join the Imperial Alliance.

“There was a time I believed the Alliance would be good for Synchron,” Jack says. “That was before...well. Before all of you.”

Yuya blinks. He glances at Reiji, to see that some of Reiji’s mask has slipped. Reiji’s lips parted.

“Us?” Yuya asks, turning back to Jack.

Jack folds his arms. Crow grins, reaching around Rin to clap him on the back.

“He’s gonna be all high and mighty about it,” he snickers. “Truth is, Jack was in contact with us in the Separatists all through the time he was working with the delegation. But he had cold feet committing to us at first. Wasn’t sure if he wanted to go for it. Up until we heard the news about this one getting away with military tech.”

Crow nods at Yuya, and Yuya flushes.

“Really?” he says.

“It’s not every day that someone bolts off with tech — especially not when they’re military themselves,” Rin says, leaning back again and lacing her fingers behind her head. “So we looked into it. We managed to crack some scrambled lines, and connect you and the stolen tech to the lab where you got it. Or, rather, her.”

Rin flicks her eyes over to Reira, who jumps and hides behind Tsukikage’s legs. Tsukikage puts a gentle hand on her head.

“But how would you break into that line?” Reiji asks, eyes actually widening. “The encryptions on that lab are...”

Rin flashes him a self-satisfied grin.

“Because,” she says, “I’m the best damn hacker in the world.”

“That’s not the point here,” Crow says, waving a hand. “The point is, we showed Jack the data we found, and he immediately swung to our side.”

“Imagine our surprise when we find your entire crew on the same base we’re on,” Jack says. “An opportunity like that doesn’t come every day.”

Reiji levels his eyes to Jack’s, and Yuya can almost feel the thread between them pulling tight with tension. Neither of them are about to drop the other’s gaze.

“And?” Reiji says. “What do you intend to do from now, then?”

Jack does not lower his gaze, in fact, it almost seems to intensify. Yuya can barely look at him, and Jack’s not even looking at Yuya.

“We’ve got a proposal for you,” he says. “In two weeks, there’s set to be a vote on whether or not Synchron joins the Alliance. At the moment, the votes are swinging towards joining.”

A chorus of swears rises up from the rest of the crew, and Yuya stiffens. What? No, that mean...that would be the last major star system in the galaxy, under Imperial rule. Jack raises a hand and the room reluctantly quiets. Yuya automatically slides his hand under the table, and find’s Reiji’s hand. Reiji meets his, and their fingers twine tightly together.

“With the right timing, and the right support, however,” Jack says. “We can swing the vote back the other way. Synchron can declare permanent independence from the Alliance.”

“That could end in war,” Reiji says.

Jack smirks.

“It could,” he says. “Which is why we want your help.”

Reiji’s hand tightens against Yuya’s. Yuya can hear the hitch in his throat. His uncertainty. He’s not sure if he should commit to this. It could cause more problems. That must be what he’s thinking.

But Yuya feels a fire in his chest. If Synchron stands up to the Imperial Navy...if just one place proves it’s possible...

“If Synchron stands up, others will follow,” Rin says. “And the Navy might just find out it isn’t the superpower it thinks it is.”

Reiji’s jaw clenches. He glances about the room, briefly, taking each of the crew in turn. His eyes fall on Yuya’s last. Yuya smiles at him, and squeezes his hand.

“We can’t run forever,” he says. “Sometime, we’re going to have to fight back.”

Reiji’s lips tighten again. But then he softens. His fingers twist around Yuya’s. He looks back to the Separatists.

“Very well,” he says. “And what would you like from us?”

* * *

This ship is big enough that they no longer have to each crunch into the small lounge, or tuck themselves into the pilot’s seats, to sleep. In fact, there’s enough crew space that they only have to put two or three to a room, and no one has to share a bed.

Reiji doesn’t mind, however, when he hears the door crack open, and instead of going to his own bed, Yuya climbs straight into Reiji’s, burrowing himself into Reiji’s arms. Reiji turns to meet him, wrapping his arms around him. Yuya kisses him briefly, and then sighs, snuggling deep into his grip.

For just a few moments, they lay like that, just their breaths tangling in the quiet dark.

“Are you worried?” Yuya asks softly.

Reiji considers the question, rolls it around in his mind. Yes, he is worried — this public antagonism of the Imperial Alliance could go horribly wrong. A war could break out over it. Hundreds of thousands could die. Or at the very least, Synchron could find itself brutally occupied. He doesn’t doubt that the Separatists have a plan, that they know more about their own work than he currently has the information to work with — but that’s just it. He hates not having information. If there’s one thing about being a navy officer that he misses, it’s being able to immediately download as much information as he wants in an instant. He’s adrift, without the networks he used to be able to take advantage of. He has to trust much more. And trusting...it’s difficult, even now.

“I don’t know,” he says, breathing into Yuya’s hair. “We have so few good options. It’s good that this one simply presented itself to us. But...I wonder if it’s the only one we truly have.”

Yuya is quiet for a moment. He leans up, then, and kisses Reiji softly again. Reiji kisses him back, and his hand slides up into Yuya’s hair. Yuya breaks off first, breathing against his lips.

“A war might happen no matter what we do,” he says. “I don’t want to admit it, either. But whatever happens, we have to be ready for it. And we face it together.”

Reiji breathes in, closing his eyes and tucking himself in against Yuya’s hair. He doesn’t need to say thank you out loud, because Yuya understands, his hand running up Reiji’s back before coming back to stroke his hair soothingly.

Reiji’s near asleep when he hears the door crack open, startling from the moment of half dreams. He jumps a little, hand fumbling towards his blaster automatically. He stops, however, when he feels the brush of Reira’s mind against his, letting his hand fall slack instead.

“Reira? Are you there?” he says. Yuya stirs beside him — he’d clearly been asleep, too his eyes cracking open groggily.

Reira has learned she doesn’t have to ask anymore, so the bed crinkles beneath her as she clambers up onto it, crawling over Reiji’s back to insert herself between the two of them. Reiji resituates, carefully tucking his arm over her as Yuya snuggles her close as well.

“Reira? Is everything all right?”

He opens his eyes fully, despite the dark, when he feels the tears against his arm. He reaches gently for Reira’s face, wiping at her teary eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Yuya asks, worried.

_ I’m sorry!! _

Reira tucks her head under Reiji’s chin, coiling up into him and shaking. Reiji pushes himself up onto one elbow — he looks at Yuya over the top of the trembling Reira, perhaps if he knows why she’s apologizing. But he looks as mystified as Reiji. Reira sniffles and clutches tighter to Reiji’s shirt.

_ I’m sorry, it was all my fault! _

“Reira, did you have a bad dream?” Yuya asks, stroking her hair.

Reira shakes her head wildly.

_ It was my fault today! I couldn’t control the ship very well! I almost hurt people and I wasn’t able to help at all! _

“Oh, Reira,” Reiji says, holding her a little tighter. “No. That wasn’t your fault. We never should have asked you to do that.”

_ But I said I would!! I said I could help!! And now...I didn’t help at all!! I-if those people hadn’t come and helped then...then... _

She sobs, shoving her face into Reiji’s chest and clinging so tightly that her fingers pinch into Reiji’s skin through his shirt.

_ You might have disappeared and left me and it would have been all my fault — _

“Reira, no, no, no,” Yuya soothes, scootching closer to squeeze her between the two of them.

Reiji keeps stroking her hair, trying to soothe the sobs, but it seems as though Reira is not listening to them. All she can do right now is cry. Reiji’s stomach twists, as he closes his eyes and holds her and Yuya a little more tightly to him. He never should have let Reira help. She’s too young. She’s too scared. They need to protect her.

He tucks his head against Yuya’s over the top of Reira’s, and holds the two of them close.

He needs to protect this, more than anything. No matter what happens...no matter where their missions take them...he needs to protect  _ this _ .

* * *

Yuya hovers anxiously in the hallway. His eyes flicker back and forth, fingers drumming along his blaster. He knows in his gut that he’s acting suspicious, but he’s  _ nervous _ . The Synchron army uniform that Jack gave him as cover is a little too small for him, and he’s positive that anyone who looks at him is going to automatically know who he is and that he’s not supposed to be here.

He keeps his back to the wall, looking up and down the long, empty hallway. Beside him, the door to the control room hangs slightly open. Rin has disappeared inside, and he’s her  _ only _ cover. He can hear her swearing softly as she toggles keys and plugs in cords, doing whatever it is you need to do to hack into the visual systems of an entire governmental base. The guard who  _ had _ been managing this hallway is inside, out cold.

Yuya checks his watch — it’s not a watch, but a holofeed on a private server, showing him where his friends are now. Jack Atlas is currently inside the Synchron seat of government, with the rest of the parliament as they finish their debates on whether or not to join the Alliance. He’ll lead the outcry once Rin gets into the holofeeds, and displays the sensitive video data of the psychic laboratory that she took from Yuya, try to stir up anger and disgust in order to sway the vote at the last minute.

Reiji, Selena, Crow, and Tsukikage have taken the place of Synchron guards and soldiers scattered around the parliament room and outside it, ready to fight if it comes down to it — if the parliament decides to cannibalize itself, they’ll be there to keep things calm. Or if they’re right, and the navy  _ is _ waiting to attack in case Synchron decides not to sign a treaty, they’ll be there to defend them. On the same note, Gongenzaka and the rest are in their speeder, cloaked and hovering over the planet along with a handful of other Separatists and other rebels combed from the galaxy — ready to defend Synchron from any punishment from the navy for not joining the Alliance.

Yuya tugs on his collar, licking his lips. He hopes Reira is okay. She begged not to be left on the ship, to come down to the planet with them. But they couldn’t bring her — not again. She’s still too young to be in a war. She’ll be safer up there, with the others to protect her.

Thinking about Reira makes him think of Reiji, and worry once again strikes him. He hopes that Reiji will be all right. That he won’t push himself, try to do too much again, to take on too much of the burden of this mission onto himself. He’s already so tired. He should have been left on the ship, too, to act as a commander.

_ “I’m tired of acting from afar,” _ he’d said to Yuya that morning when Yuya had protested him being right there on the front line.  _ “If I am to lead, I must show that I am willing to put myself on the line with the rest of my crew. This isn’t the navy, and I won’t lead as though it is.” _

Yuya chews on his lip thinking about the dark circles under Reiji’s eyes. He hopes...he  _ prays _ ...that Reiji at least got some sleep last night. None of them had been sleeping well on the way to Synchron, but Reiji slept more fitfully than most.

The door slams open beside him, and a grinning Rin bursts out. She pumps one fist into the air in triumph, then grabs Yuya by the wrist and hauls him down the hall.

“Hey! I’m supposed to be your point guard!” he protests, yanking his wrist free and hurrying to take point in front of. “Did you finish?”

“Duh,” Rin says, pumping her fist again while she moves to run beside him, completely ignoring his formation. “I’m the best hacker in the galaxy.”

Yuya manages to grab her by the shoulder before she careens around a corner, releasing his blaster and quickly checking his corners. There’s no one around. He nods and they take off across the hall again.

“We need to meet back up at the rendezvous point, then,” he says.

“What? No way! I want to go see the looks on all their faces when they see that video footage start playing!”

Rin grins again, and darts off in the opposite direction they’re supposed to go. Yuya bites back a swear.

“Rin!!”

She doesn’t listen — and his mission is to protect her, so he has no choice but to go after her. Also, he thinks with a twist in his stomach, he can’t deny how much he wants to go towards where Reiji — to back him up if a fight does break out.

Rin knows this building better than Yuya does, so despite him trying to stop her from careening around corners, she keeps ahead of him the whole way. They don’t run into a single person — his skin crawls at that. Where is everyone? The soldiers? The guards? The staff?

Finally, Rin slows to a quick walk as they come around another hallway corner, and out into the main lobby of the state building. There’s no one at the reception desk, Yuya thinks with another tingle of unease. He turns to Rin while his eyes flicker around the room, to the second floor with its railings where a sniper could be hiding, and opens his mouth to ask her if she feels like something is wrong.

His body reacts before his mind catches up, grabbing Rin and yanking her back just before a bolt strikes her in the head. He hauls her back against the wall, slamming them both into it under the cover of the upper level, and whips his blaster up. Three more shots rain down, but they’re just out of range. He sees the soldier bolting along the railing on the other side of the lobby.

He squeezes off two shots of his own, but they miss, and the soldier disappears.

“Whew! Thanks for the save,” Rin says. “Was that one of the navy’s?”

“I couldn’t tell,” Yuya says, heart racing. “Come on, let’s go — we need to make sure they’re all okay.”

He checks more carefully this time before hurrying Rin across to the doors. They push through them, and stumble out onto a hallway that wraps all the way around the parliament room. Layers of other seats, filling up the whole bottom sphere of the room, are filled with people. On the video screen suspended in the middle, the videos are playing — Yuya’s stomach turns to see the experiment data. He stole that, he thinks. He didn’t steal it — he saw it. He saw those children screaming and crying in pain, and his heart clenches with panic as he thinks —  _ I only saved one _ .

Parliament isn’t watching, though — his eyes scan the room, and he realizes that there’s...there’s been a scuffle. A few people are cowering in their seats, others have thrown themselves to the floor, at least one is slumped over the back of their chair, and — and there, he sees Selena, holding her blaster threateningly at a small group of black-armored soldiers who are on their knees with their hands laced behind their head. Crow manages another group of prisoners, while Jack is getting himself back up from his seat at the front of the room, straightening his jacket and looking more annoyed than distressed.

He slams a hand on his desk, making the whole thing shake as he leans into his microphone. The actual speaker of the room sits absolutely shell shocked in the seat beside Jack, just staring widely while Jack takes over.

“Is this the kind of organization we want to be associated with?” he demands, pointing at the screens, and then at the soldiers Selena and Crow have under control. “The kind that tortures children? The kind that tries to murder governmental seats because they  _ might _ vote against joining them? Is that what we want to become?”

The room is silent except for the faint, echoing screams from the video footage. Rin has gone still and silent beside him, just staring at the frozen chaos. And Yuya’s mouth has gone dry. 

A voice clears its throat into a microphone. Down among the parliament, a woman has stood up, smoothing out her skirt and replacing the rolled pin in her red hair as she leans into her microphone.

“Let us restart the vote,” she says, her voice clear and strong. “All in favor of joining the Imperial Alliance?”

Not a single hand in the entire room raises up. Even the speaker at his chair doesn’t move. The woman’s eyes cut around the room, and then she leans forward more.

“All opposed?”

Nearly every hand raises up. A silent defiance that reverberates around the room. It’s the stone dropped into the pond, Yuya realizes faintly. Synchron may as well have declared war.

Rin whoops and punches the air. She grabs Yuya around the neck for an awkward hug, making him lean over and gasp.

But only one thought courses through his mind as his eyes flicker around the room of raised hands.

_ Where’s Reiji? _

* * *

Reiji stikes out blindly, but his hands are once again deflected. His blaster is gone — he’s not sure when he was disarmed, it all happened so quickly. One moment, he was standing at one of the entrances to the parliament, watching as the video footage of the psychic lab began to play, searching for any signs of insurrection or danger to address — the next moment, someone had grabbed him from behind, a hand clamped over his mouth, and he couldn’t believe he’d been snuck up on.

He’d struggled for what feels like hours, now, bundled unceremoniously away from his position while a blinding visor was strapped over his eyes and his hands were wrestled behind him, shackled despite his best attempts to escape.

At some point, he’d been thrown to the floor — he has no idea if he was still only a few feet away from his post, or if he’d been taken farther.

“Who’s there?” he demands, as loudly as he can now that his mouth is free, in case one of his crew is near enough to hear him. “Identify yourselves!”

There’s no answer. He tries to struggle up to a sitting position, but a boot strikes him on the side, sending him sprawling back to the ground.

_ I’m being taken prisoner _ , he thinks, his mind whirling.  _ But why? Why me, specifically? If I’m here, they must know that my crew is — why not simply kill me?  _

And what of the rest of his crew?? His heart races. He needs to stay calm. He needs to think. Why is he being taken prisoner, and by who?

The ground rumbles beneath him, and his mouth goes dry. He’s...he’s being moved. He’s in some kind of vehicle. A speeder? Is he being taken off planet? No, the rumbling feels more like treads. He’s being moved by land. But to where?

Helplessness overtakes him, and his body goes limp. There’s...nothing he can do. He’s clearly trapped — he’s such a fool, not keeping a better eye on himself! Not even considering the possibility of something like this! He has no idea now, even, if his team is safe, if their plan worked, if Synchron is breaking away from the Alliance, or if it’s been systemically broken apart by the navy.

_ Yuya, I’m sorry _ , he thinks suddenly, his heart clenching. Yuya had asked him not to go into the field. He’d told him he’d be more help if he was on commander’s duty in the ship, able to watch over everyone and direct them. But he’s been a fool. He wanted to prove that he was a leader who would respect his team, who would join them in the field.

Now, all he’s done is made himself a liability.

The trip to wherever it is they’re going doesn’t last long. Unfortunately, without his vision, he can’t tell if the vehicle has been making turns, but he does at least manage to count the approximate minutes — at least thirty, or forty minutes he’s been gone from his position. His team is definitely beginning to worry now, if they haven’t been taken prisoner or, worse, killed, by now. 

He shoves the thought aside. No. He has to have more faith in them. They’re alive, and they’re free.

As the vehicle purrs to a stop and the rumbling comes to silence, two sets of rough hands grab him beneath the arms and haul him back to his feet, forcing him to walk. He doesn’t fight, this time — wherever he is, he’s on someone else’s turf now. Wasting his energy won’t help him in the long run. He needs information, now. That will be what gets him out of this mess.

He allows himself to be manhandled along a short path, and then up a set of steps. Cool air blasts him in the face — he’s being brought inside a climate controlled building. It’s either a high ranking Synchron government building, or it’s the Imperial Embassy. Not many places on Synchron are highly advanced enough, or have enough money, to have climate control. He’s taken up one more set of stairs, and hears another set of doors slide open before he’s bustled through.

“Sir. Defected Admiral Akaba has been secured.”

The voice comes from one of the men holding him as he is forced to his knees. He hears the snap of clothes as the man salutes. For a moment, no one responds. Then Reiji hears a chair creaking as someone stands up, and a soft sigh. His skin crawls. 

“Very good,” says a voice that is all too familiar. “Leave us.”

Reiji’s mouth goes dry and dusty. He barely hears the boots of the men leaving the room. An unbidden shake has begun to run through his entire body, despite all of his efforts to keep himself still. It’s far too late.  _ He’s _ likely already noticed Reiji’s loss of composure.

The blinding visor turns off, sliding away from his eyes so that he can see who he’s looking at.

His father’s lips are tight, eyebrows low over his deepset eyes, as he considers Reiji. Reiji tries to breathe.

“Admiral Akaba,” his father says, in a monotone voice.

“High Admiral,” Reiji says in response, trying to keep his voice level.

It doesn’t fool his father, and they can both see it. Akaba Leo frowns. He walks around his desk, and comes to stand in front of Reiji, looming over him. Then he sighs, and shakes his head.

“I truly believed I had taught you better, my son,” he says.

It’s the familiar form of address that breaks Reiji’s last remaining dregs of composure. His rage boils over in his chest, jaw clenching, hands tightening.

“And I thought, once that you cared for your children,” he says. “It seems I was incorrect.”

Leo frowns at him again.

“This again,” he sighs. “Losing Ray hurt me too, Reiji.”

“Not enough to investigate the circumstances of her death.”

“She was a soldier. We all knew the risks she took. And she was willing to take them.”

“Risks that you and your warmongering forced her and many others into!”

Leo shakes his head once more, sighing as he turns and returns back around his desk.

“It takes sacrifice, and difficult decisions, in order to bring peace to an entire galaxy,” he says. “And I’m troubled, Reiji, that you would think it appproriate to sabotage my attempts at a  _ peaceful _ integration.”

Reiji’s lip curls, and his words come out like spat poison.

“Peaceful? You call creating an ambience of fear in order to coerce others into accepting your rule a  _ peaceful _ integration? You have never known peace,  _ father _ .”

Leo’s brows draw together. He sighs, steepling his fingers beneath his chin.

“It will give me no joy to put you on trial, Reiji, but I cannot give you any more special treatment than I already have.”

“Put me on trial, execute me if you must,” Reiji says. “But you will never end what I have begun. The wheels are already in motion. I am not the center of it — my team will continue my work even without me. The Alliance, and your navy, will fall.”

Leo actually looks saddened. He shakes his head, and moves his hand to the table, where he pushes a button.

“I have secured my son,” he says. “You may initate the launch sequence.”

Reiji’s blood runs into ice. His throat clenches around his heart.

“What are you about to do?” he manages to force out of his throat.

Leo sighs deeply, leaning back in his chair. He twists the swivel around so that he can look out the large window behind him — a window, Reiji is now realizing, that is reinforced. Bomb shields. This — this whole embassy is a bomb shield. His heart screams.

“This revolution of yours will end here,” Leo says. “I’m afraid the rest of your crew will not be joining you on trial.”

“You speak of peace before dropping  _ bombs _ ?” Reiji can’t help but yell, his voice beginning to crack. “Are you even listening to yourself?? Thousands of noncombatants will die!”

Leo’s eyes do not flicker. And he does not respond. 

Reiji scrambles up to his feet — his hands are still bound, but he can walk. He bolts for the door. It does not open, and he slams against it. He slams his shoulder into it again. He has — to warn them. He has to warn them about the warhead that is hurtling towards them — 

Leo doesn’t even try to stop him. He just sits in his chair, and watches his holofeed on his desk, as the countdown begins.

“We must make difficult decisions,” he says, “in order to preserve the peace of an entire galaxy.”

* * *

Reira flings herself at Yuya, clutching at his shirt. Yuya holds her back tightly, clinging to her, his heart screaming — he wonders if she can sense it, just how panicked he is, and he tries to tamp it down, at least for her. Kurosaki runs from the speeder after her, the two of them having jumped out the back before Gongenzaka had even fully landed.

“Is it true? Akaba’s missing?” Kurosaki demands.

Yuya can only nod, wooden and hollow. Reira begins to sob, trembling in his arms. Kurosaki swears. He leaves the two of them without further comment, running over to where Selena and Tsukikage are discussing with Crow what to do now, how to track down Reiji, what to do to support the Separatists in defending Synchron and the parliament now that such a blatant declaration of independence has been made.

“Got it!”

Rin’s voice cuts over the group. Yuya glances over his shoulder to see her bolting out from the parliament building, ignoring the others and running straight to Yuya with a small holoscreen in her hands, waving it over her head. She skids to a stop in front of him and shoves the screen in his face.

“Video footage! I found your guy! Looks like some navy goons snapped him up just before the others attacked the parliament!”

Yuya’s eyes widen, and he snatches the screen from her. Reira grabs his arm to pull it down towards her, so she can see too. Yuya tilts the screen so she can see it, and they watch in stunned silence. He sees Reiji, waiting just outside the parliament, blaster ready, eyes scanning the crowd for any signs of attack. Then the soldiers appear out of thin air — they were cloaked, Yuya realizes with fear. And they were  _ only _ after Reiji.

He doesn’t want Reira to look at the scene of the soldiers grabbing hold of Reiji, snapping a blinding visor over his eyes as they drag him, kicking and struggling, away from his post. But he can’t get her to let go of him in order to tilt it away from her.

“The navy took him,” Yuya says, mouth dry. “But why? Why just him?”

“Hell if I know,” Rin says, snatching the screen back and turning it towards her, tapping a few commands over the screen. “But I at least got a look at the vehicle they took him in. They can’t have gone far.”

She turns the screen towards them again, and Yuya sees a navy-issue land rover waiting outside the parliament building. Reiji is thrown inside, and the doors close behind him and the soldiers. The vehicle peals off.

Reira grabs at Yuya’s arm, tugging at him.

_ I can find him _ , she says.

“Reira, no, please, you’ll hurt yourself if you use your powers too much,” Yuya says.

_ I can find him!!! _ she insists, more desperately.  _ I don’t want him to go away!! _

She releases him and whips around, putting out her hands in the air. A faint teal glow mists from her fingers as she searches for the electrical signature of the vehicle that was once parked right out here in the video footage. Yuya tries to grab hold of her, his heart racing. She dances out of his grip, though, face screwed up with determination. He’s seen what happens when she forces herself — she’s already so tired from trying to control that ship the other day.

Rin makes a faint choking sound, and Yuya’s gaze shoots towards her. Her face is white, her eyes wide — her hands shake where they grip her screen.

“Actually, you might want to find him, and fast,” she says.

“What? What’s wrong?”

Rin turns the screen towards Yuya one more time, and Yuya’s entire body freezes up. Rin shows him a radar screen, a cross-section of the atmosphere overhead and the space just beyond it. It also shows what looks like a very,  _ very  _ large object headed straight towards them — an asteroid maybe, or...or a bomb.

Rin and Yuya exchange a horrified glance. Reira lets out a little cry, her whole body shaking.

“Evacuate the city,” Yuya gasps. “I’m going to find Reiji.”

* * *

Reiji slams himself against the doors again, this time feeling as though something in him cracks — whether it’s a bone or his confidence, he’s not sure what. He tries to push himself up to his feet, mind racing — there has to be something. Something he can do. He can get his hands freed, he can threaten his father to shut down the launch sequence, he can break the coded lock on this door and get himself out so he can  _ warn  _ them — 

But he can’t. He can’t get his weight underneath him. His legs are like jelly, now, and he collapses back to the floor, shaking and useless. His glasses slide down his nose when he bends over, gasping for air.

Oh, god.

They’re all going to die.

“Please,” escapes his lips, even though he promised himself no matter what happened, that he would never beg. “Father.  _ Please _ .”

For a moment, he’s a child again. He’s shaking in the doorway of his father’s study, begging for him to look up from his desk, begging him to say something, to do something, about Ray, about her death, about the people who  _ must _ be responsible for it, father, please, look at this data, please  _ listen _ — 

But his father is unmoved, and unshaken. Reiji trembles against the floor as the tears begin to roll down his cheeks. They’re all going to die. Tsukikage, Hikage, Kurosaki, Selena, Dennis, Gongenzaka, Sawatari.

Reira.  _ Yuya _ .

“Father, please, there has to be another way,  _ please _ . I — I’ll testify to anything you want me to testify to in my trial, please, call off the bombs, please —”

“It’s unfortunate that you were tempted to disloyalty,” Leo says with a deep sigh. “But we must cut this tumor off at the root.”

Reiji slumps, unable to do anything but cry, but fall apart to pieces in front of the one perosn he promised he would never fall apart in front of ever again. They’re all going to die, everyone is going to die, and there is nothing he can do, he’s helpless to stop it — 

A sizzling sound echoes on the other side of the door. An electrical pop sounds, and suddenly, the doors shoot open. Leo’s face finally changes, as he leaps to his feet, eyes narrowing while his hand drops to his side for a blaster.

“Don’t move!”

Yuya’s voice cuts through the room, and it’s as though Reiji fills up with light. Yuya’s hands shake slightly where he grips his blaster, his face white as he advances into the room. His eyes flicker just briefly to Reiji, and relief crashes into his eyes. He stays looking determined, however, keeping his gaze trained on Leo once he’s noted Reiji’s position.

Leo’s eyes narrow, and his lips curl.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised someone came,” he says, holding his hands at his sides. 

Yuya jerks the barrel of his blaster at Leo.

“Keep your hands up, away from your blaster.”

Leo lifts his hands, but only halfway. He looks disgusted. Yuya edges towards Reiji. He keeps one hand with the blaster pointed at Leo while he bends down, gripping Reiji under the arm and helping him to his feet. He pushes on the button on his shackles, releasing them. Reiji quickly brings his hands forward.

“I’m taking him back,” Yuya says, holding tightly to Reiji’s hand.

More tears burst into the corners of Reiji’s eyes, but these are from a different source. He twines his hand tightly into Yuya’s, clinging to him like a lifeline.

“You must know the bomb is already on its way. You will survive in here, but if you both leave, you’ll die,” Leo says, shaking his head. “There’s no possible way to evacuate before it strikes. You’ll be caught up in the explosion if you try to take off. Stay here and survive, and face trial.”

Reiji feels his confidence returning, flooding back into him from Yuya’s hand in his.

“I will die with my team,” he says, “or I will live with them.”

Yuya’s hand squeezes his hard. He backs them out of the room, then — the minute they’re through, Yuya quickly turns his blaster and shoots the door panel, making the doors slam shut once again.

Still clinging to Reiji’s hand, he runs. And Reiji runs with him, his heart racing in his ears, refusing to let go of him for even a moment. They burst down the stairs, into the lobby, and Yuya fires a few more warning shots through the lobby to prevent any soldiers from coming after them. They won’t come, of course, not once they’ve burst through the sliding doors and back out into the radiating heat outside. They know the bomb is coming. They won’t try to follow into death.

“Yuya,” Reiji gasps, yanking him to a stop once they’re outside. “Yuya! The warhead. We have to find a way to divert it, or to evacuate —”

“There’s a ship!” Yuya gasps. “I left Reira in it! We might be able to make it! The others are already in atmosphere and they’re trying to evacuate the city!”

Not enough, Reiji thinks, his heart in his throat. From the ridge where the Embassy sits, he can see Synchron’s capital city — he can see the streams of vehicles, lines and lines of them in a standstill as they try to escape the coming doom. The sky glitters with speeders, almost running into each other as they try to make their way off planet, or at least as far away from the city and the range of the warhead as possible. 

His eyes lift up to the sky, and his heart goes into his throat. He can see it — just a streak, a glowing white light parting the clouds, falling closer and closer towards them.

They can’t make it.

They won’t make it.

He knows Yuya knows it too, his hand dragging on his and trying to run him towards the speeder waiting at the very edge of the ridge. Yuya’s hand is sweaty, there are tears in his eyes — he knows. 

They’ve failed. It’s over. There’s no way, even, to stop the launch sequence now. It’s already going to fall. Their attempt to resist was met with what Reiji always feared — total annihilation.

Will someone else continue to fight after this, he wonders, his mind drawing far away from his body. Will any other rebel dare to stand against the navy after such a display of power? In the end, have their actions only doomed the entire galaxy to an eternity of imperial rule?

“Reiji!” Yuya cries, trying to drag him into the speeder. “Reiji, please, we have to try.”

Reiji comes back to himself. He smiles, reaching for Yuya, and pulling him into him in a tight hug. Yuya freezes for a moment. Then his body gives out. He slumps into Reiji’s arms, as the two of them slide to the ground, clinging to each other.

“Thank you, for coming for me,” he whispers into Yuya’s ear.

Yuya’s tears stain his shoulder. The blaster slides out of his hand so he can grip tightly to Reiji, hands digging into his back.

“You would have come for me, too.”

The world is crashing down around them, but Reiji closes his eyes, and tucks his face into Yuya’s hair, and breathes deep, engraving the feeling of Yuya in his arms. If this is how it ends — if this is how the world ends, then he thinks...he thinks he can live with that.

His eyes fly open when Yuya gasps in his ear. They pull apart just a bit as Reiji fumbles to see what Yuya is staring at — his mouth hangs open, eyes are wide.

“Oh god,” he gasps, and Reiji’s eyes finally fall on what Yuya is staring at.

Reira stands at the very edge of the ridge with her hands pushed in the air over her head. Her entire body is encased in the light teal haze of her psychic powers, crackling and sparking with small bursts of electrical light. Her body trembles as though she’s holding a thousand pounds — and she  _ is _ , Reiji realizes with shock.

The bomb is frozen in the air, glowing a bright blue.

“Reira!” Yuya cries, scrambling to his feet. He and Reiji bolt for her at the same time. Yuya throws one arm around her, and Reiji does the same, the pair of them holding her away from falling.

Electricity shoots through them both — Reiji screams as his mind whites out from the sheer pain of it. Yuya’s screams blend with his own — but neither of them let go.

“Reira!” Yuya screams. “You don’t have to — do this!”

Reira opens her mouth, and a wild, desperate cry rips out of her throat.

_ I DON’T WANT THIS! _

“Reira, you could die!” Yuya screams.

_ I WANT US TO STAY TOGETHER! _

Reira gasps for air — lightning courses through Reiji’s entire body. But he clings to Reira anyway, as he feels an explosion of wind bursting out from Reira’s body, the gravity around her pinching inwards and squeezing against his lungs. Blood trickles from Reira’s nose. Her hands do not drop. The screaming whir of electricity roils through her body and into Reiji and Yuya, and they hang on.

_ I! _

_ WON’T! _

_ LET! _

_ US! _

_ DIE! _

Another scream, this time filled with utter rage and determination, rips out of Reira’s throat. The storm within her expands, spreads between her and Reiji and Yuya, and for one, brilliant, blinding moment, Reiji feels as though they are a single organism, as though there is not separation between the three of them or the bomb in the sky.

The bomb in their minds sparks. And then, in the air, the warhead trembles. The light flees from it.

And it falls.

Reiji and Yuya snap back to themselves, and Reiji gasps as Reira slumps into their arms. He clings to her as she falls backwards into their grip, his eyes fixed on the bomb. The rocket falls, twisting sideways and limp, down towards the city.

It crashes, hard, somewhere between the buildings, somewhere out of sight, and Reiji’s breath catches, waiting for the rain of fire and destruction to rain down on them.

But nothing happens. Nothing, save for a plume of dirt and dust rising up from the place where the bomb fell. 

Reiji lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. His eyes snap to Reira’s. Yuya looks up at him, his face stained with tears and dirt, but he smiles — oh, god, it is the most beautiful thing Reiji has ever seen.

“She’s okay,” he whispers. “She’s just asleep.”

“The bomb,” Reiji gasps. “She was — from this far away — she disarmed it.”

Yuya reaches over Reira with his free hand, grabs Reiji by the back of the neck, and kisses him so hard that Reiji thinks he will never breathe again.

* * *

Selena is already very, very drunk. Sawatari isn’t much better, egging her on to take another shot. Yuya can’t help but giggle, having had a few drinks himself. Reiji rolls his eyes when he sees the flush in Yuya’s cheeks, but he smiles as he takes a seat beside him.

“You know we still have work to do tomorrow, don’t you?” he says. “I won’t be accepting ‘hangover’ as a sick excuse from anyone.”

“We almost died,” Yuya says, taking another swig of his drink. “Let us party just a little. In the celebration of not-dying.

Reiji smiles at that, and Yuya’s just tipsy enough to be sappy, flopping onto Reiji’s shoulder when Reiji sits down next to him.

“You have the prettiest smile in the galaxy,” he says.

Reiji chuckles as he snakes an arm around Yuya.

“I believe that award actually belongs to you.”

“Awww.”

They sit quietly then, letting the music and the cheering and the people dancing on tables fill in the spaces between them.

“How’s Reira?” Yuya asks.

“Still sleeping,” Reiji says. “But she woke up long enough to talk to me for a while. She says she feels all right. Just sleepy.”

Yuya nods against Reiji’s shoulder. He’s glad. The last time he saw Reira use her powers, she went completely unconscious for almost a whole day. But this time...even though she’d used them for something so big...she seemed to be all right. He slides his hand into Reiji’s, and Reiji pulls Yuya’s hand into his lap.

“It won’t be over,” Reiji says quietly. “Especially now that they know just what Reira...what psychics...can do.”

Yuya nods. But he sighs, and closes his eyes.

“I know,” he says. “But...I think we’re going to be okay. I’m not sure why, but...I have a good feeling. About this. And about us.”

Reiji’s eyes soften when Yuya glances up at him, and Yuya smiles. Reiji kisses him on the head, and holds him a little closer.

“I think,” he says, “that I have a good feeling about us, too.”


End file.
